LAKEPORT >> After being swept by Clear Lake in both the 2014 and 2015 North Central League I campaigns, the Kelseyville Knights bolted back into the win column with a 16-4 rout of the Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon in Lakeport.
Kelseyville (2-0 league, 6-2 overall) came within an out of 10-running Clear Lake (1-1, 2-9) only to watch the Cardinals scratch out three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 12-3. They got as close as 12-4 before the Knights tacked on four insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
“Zane is a friend of mine and I’ve got a ton of respect for him,” Kelseyville head coach Lou Poloni said of Clear Lake counterpart Zane Jensen. “The last two years they’ve beat us four straight so it was nice to get back and win one. The last two years were tough.”
Kelseyville gave winning pitcher Logan Barrick a 2-0 lead to work with before he had thrown his first pitch in the bottom of the first inning. The Knights broke the game wide open with a seven-run third and pushed their advantage to 12-0 with three more runs in the fourth.
Kyle Ellis, the Knights’ junior shortstop, went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs to spark an offense that finished with 16 hits.
“He had a day for us and he’s been hitting the ball well although the baseball gods haven’t been very good to him,” Poloni said. “He’s made a lot of hard outs in games and even in practice. It was good to see him get some reward for hitting the ball hard.”
Sambhava Baird (3-for-4) and Nick Pfann (1-for-5) also drove in three runs apiece. Barrick added a hit and drove in a run while tossing a complete-game five-hitter. He allowed only one earned run, struck out six and walked one.
“He pitched well and the defense played well behind him with the exception of that fifth inning,” Poloni said.
Cody Dillsaver went 2-for-3 with a RBI for the Cardinals. Isaac Lewis took the loss.
Clear Lake returns to action Thursday in Middletown at 4 p.m. Kelseyville hosts St. Helena on Friday at 4 p.m.
